Save The Last Dance For Me (16x13)
by Merlucaforever
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. Who will Meredith save the last dance for? Who will take her home? In whose arms is she going to be tonight? Inspired by the song, "Save The Last Dance For Me", (16x13). All rights reserved to Shonda Rhimes.


**Save The Last Dance For Me (16x13)**

**Merlucaforever**

_**Note: **__Hi Merluca fans. I'm obsessed with the song "Save The Last Dance For Me", which is the title of 16x13. Since I can't get it out of my mind, I imagined this little fic._

_Recommendation: listen to the song on YouTube before reading the story. _

_Note that this is a translation of the original French version that was published before 16x11 was aired. You will therefore not find "Mi manchi Andrea". LOL._

_Hope you'll enjoy it Anyway! _

_I apologize for the mistakes. I'm not a native speaker._

Sitting alone in the residents' lounge that served as his office, Andrew was staring at his cooling coffee in front of him. It must have been his fourth or fifth _large americano_ of the day; he didn't really know because he had lost count of them. He couldn't get a wink of sleep last night. It's true that he had a hard time sleeping lately because he couldn't get used to the other side of the bed vacant or to his silent apartment without the children's laughter and hers. However, the thought of facing this day alone had kept him awake most of the night.

It was their first anniversary today. At least, it was supposed to be their first anniversary. Just a few months ago, he had built castles in the air by picturing their first anniversary in Italy where he would have proposed to her. But he had lost all his illusions in the last few weeks.

He had tried to explain to her several times what had prompted him to ask for this break, hoping that she would have understood that he hadn't dumped her, but he failed. At first, he thought she wanted more time because he could clearly see how she got flustered when their eyes met, or when they were close to each other. At such moments, he would have sworn that she missed him as much as he missed her, and he was willing to give her all the time she needed to figure out what she wanted.

Unfortunately, he had been a bit presumptuous to believe that, after taking some time to reflect on the future of their relationship, she would have realized that she wanted to be with him, even though he wasn't a renowned neurosurgeon, even though he wasn't the father of her children. But it would seem that she had realized that she needed a surgeon whose career could match hers, and who knew what it was like to be a father.

He has been trying to ignore this presentiment which he had from the first day when this man had burst into the room of the patient during their rounds, looking down on everyone, including Meredith. But he was not blind. He quickly realized that the new ped surgeon was interested in her. Every time he saw them, either working on the same case or talking in the hallways, he saw the line between getting along well with colleagues and flirting becoming increasingly blurred. Hurt and consumed by jealousy, he was burning the candle at both end by trying to replace his four residents injured at the accident at Joe's.

This evening, they were throwing a party for Helm, Schmitt, Parker and Simms who had been back to work in the last few days. What a better time than Valentine's Day to tell your friends that you cared about them and that you were happy that they were all fine. Even if he wasn't in the mood to party, he absolutely had to pop out at the evening as chief resident. He sighed deeply and stood up to head to the party.

She was the first person he saw on entering the large room decorated for the occasion, although it was crowded. The music and the hubbub of conversations hadn't prevented him from distinguishing her laughter either. She laughed happily when Helm approached her to lead her to the improvised dance floor.

– "Come on Helm, you must spare your leg!".

– "Dr. Grey, nothing can stop me from dancing with you tonight. It's my evening and you can't refuse me this dance. But don't worry, I'm not going to make any big declaration!".

He watched her dance, laugh and sing with Helm, then with Schmitt. But he wasn't the only one who was staring at her. The new head of pediatric surgery has been giving her the eye shamelessly. Andrew decided to ignore him and shifted his attention to Meredith. He didn't know any woman as beautiful and sensual as her, he told himself, seeing her move with such grace. Her sublime body attracted him like a magnet. He wanted to hold her in his arms, hug her, feel her body move at the same pace as his own... He wanted to tell her: "_Cara_, save the last dance for me".

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At the end of the song, Schmitt thanked Meredith and, as she was about to head back to her seat, she noticed Andrew. She had been thinking about him all day and her heart started to race when she saw him. When she caught his gaze, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the memories of their first Valentine's Day.

It was on that day that she had stopped fighting her feelings for him when she had met his penetrating gaze filled with love and promises at Gareth and Natasha's wedding. And today, deep down in her heart, she knew that she didn't want to fight against her feelings anymore.

No, she didn't want to hide behind her wounded pride anymore and pretend that she didn't love this man with every fiber of her being and that this break wasn't unbearable. Nothing was the same without him. Her coffee was tasteless because she didn't share it with him. Everything was dull… even the stars didn't shine anymore.

Why weren't they together anymore? She couldn't remember why because it didn't matter. She didn't want to dance with anyone but him. She started to approach him hesitantly but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hayes bowing slightly in front of her to invite her.

– "May I have this dance, Dr. Grey?".

Before she could even answer him, she heard Richard calling her and she turned around to face him.

– "Meredith?".

– "Richard, what's going on?".

– "I'm looking for Maggie to take her to dinner tonight. Catherine is stuck in Boston because of a snowstorm".

– "Oh, Maggie has taken the kids home early this afternoon. It makes me think that I don't have my car and that I have to call Amelia so I can go home with her and Link".

– "Oh, but… I would be happy to take you home", offered Hayes.

She was about to decline his offer when Richard was paged and said:

– "I have to go. I'll call Maggie later".

She watched Richard walk away and saw Andrew speaking with Schmitt and Helm. She thought for a moment about leaving Hayes standing in the middle of the dance floor, but he had already moved closer to her and had taken her hand to twirl her into his arms. So, not wanting to be rude, she resigned herself to dancing with him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Andrew was talking to Schmitt and Helm, he couldn't help but cast furtive glances at Meredith dancing with Hayes. He had noticed a look in her eye just a few seconds ago, and he had thought for a moment that... no, he was stupid, what had he thought?

Why did he have to hold her so tight? His hands on her hips... no, it was too much for him. He apologized to the guests of honor at the evening and practically fled so as not to give in to the urge to grab Hayes by the collar and punch him in the face.

A few moments later, he found himself on the rooftop. He never thought he could have been so wretched in the same place where he had had the happiest moment of his life. He closed his eyes for a while, and he could see her as if she was really there. She was so beautiful with her flyaway blond hair and his jacket on her shoulders. That night, last year, he already knew that his love for her was infinite and he didn't understand how he could love her even more day by day – apparently, his love completely defied the laws of mathematics.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear the elevator door open or the footsteps behind him and startled slightly when he heard her voice.

– "Andrew?".

– "Meredith? Is that you?", he asked, thinking he was still daydreaming.

– "Uh... yes, it's me. I don't have any twin sister. As far as I know. Hidden sisters tend to show up all the time", she said, a little nervous.

– "What are you doing here? I thought your dance partner was going to take you home?".

He didn't want his jealousy to show through his voice but failed to hide it. Meredith pretended not to notice. Instead, she was dying to tell him that he had no reason to be jealous. How could she have given her heart to someone else? It belonged to him forever. Cristina's package said: "_renowned surgeon, widower and father of two"_. The perfect gift for her, one would think. She had to admit that she had been tempted to open it to see what might be inside, but she hadn't done so.

There was nothing she could possibly want that she didn't already have with Andrew: a generous, sensitive and caring man who knew her and didn't judge her, who was willing to do anything for her, who made her laugh, who knew how to arouse her and make her melt with a single look, who made her stronger, who made her happy and who loved her immeasurably. Yes, she already had all that and in the most beautiful gift box she could have dreamed of.

Andrew was such a surprise gift as if he had been sent by God! He had just what it took to be the perfect partner. You don't throw away a man like that when you're lucky enough to have met him. How could she have done so anyway? She loved him so much! At that very moment, she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him… "_if he still wanted to be with me_", she told herself, suddenly afraid of having blown everything. So, she replied simply, without specifying that she was hoping he would be there:

– "I needed some air".

– "It's not such a good idea; it's too cold tonight. Come on, let's go back downstairs".

– "No. Not right now. Let's stay a little longer, please".

Andrew sighed and capitulated:

– "All right!".

Then, he took off his jacket and helped her to put it on. They were both aware of the sparks between them. She looked up at him and thought: "_My Goodness, he had the most beautiful eyes in the world!"_.

– "Thank you", she said.

They remained silent for a minute which seemed to have last an eternity to them. And then they looked at each other and said at once:

– "Andrew!".

– "Meredith!".

– "You go first. I know you like to talk first", he said with a smile.

– "Uh... yes, that's right. But right now, I don't really know what to say. So… dance with me. I saved the last dance for you".

– "You saved the last dance for me?", he repeated while grinning.

– "Yes. Because the last dance is for the one who's taking me home and in whose arms I'm gonna be tonight. And every night".

Andrew's face lit up as he understood the meaning of her words.

– "Mer, what do you mean by that?".

– "My love, I saved the very last dance for you and we will dance it together as many times as you want. As long as you want to be my dance partner. She paused slightly and added, "My equal partner. And I promise to never give you any reason to doubt it, even for a moment".

The sadness that Andrew had been feeling all those long weeks suddenly disappeared. He had no words to describe the happiness he felt instead. He then picked up his phone to play the first song in the Valentine's Day playlist that Carina had taken the liberty of downloading. And then he approached her to hold her in his arms.

– "_Cara_, don't you know how much I love you? Can't you feel it when we touch? I will never, never let you go… I love you so much!".

God, she missed him terribly! She let herself go against him and said back:

– "I love you too, Andrew".

Holding each other tightly, they started to move to the rhythm of Shania's famous song "You're Still The One". Andrew's hands wandered all over her body. Then his hand brushed across her cheek and he leaned down to put his lips on hers and they kissed passionately until the end of the song. His voice dropped to a husky soft whisper when he lifted her chin and said:

– "I would never get tired of dancing with you _mia cara_, but now I think it would be a good idea to take you home".

Meredith laughed, happy. He held her hand and they walked to the elevator. When they arrived at the nurses' station near the exit, Andrew told her:

– "Let's go get our stuff and will meet here in a while".

– "Do you have Carina's car tonight?", she asked.

– "Uh...", started Andrew.

But Meredith was already assuming that it was the case and continued:

– "You know, it's a race car. I mean, it looks like a race car. It's really no different from your motorcycle. I wonder which one scares me the most. The Deluca's really like adrenaline, don't they?".

– "Uh… maybe you're not entirely wrong".

He put a soft kiss on her nose without noticing the nurses glancing at them, happy to see them together.

– "I'll be right back".

He was back a few minutes later and found Meredith talking to Richard. She was from behind and didn't notice his presence until she heard him greeting Richard. It was then that she saw the two helmets he was holding.

– "Andrew, those helmets, what are they for? Do you want me to get… on the back of your motorcycle? Seriously?".

– "Uh... yes!".

– "Oh no! No way!", she exclaimed.

– "Mer, you've just said that it was as safe as Carina's car".

– "I think you are distorting my words considerably".

– "Okay lovebirds, would you like me to drive you home?", offered Richard.

– "No, thank you Dr. Webber. That's very nice, but she's coming with me", he said, grabbing her hand to lead her to the exit.

While following him Meredith was giving him a list of reasons why it was out of the question for her to get on his motorcycle, but Andrew reassured her every time.

– "Here we are", he said as they reached the motorcycle.

– "Andrew, no!".

– "So, are you already leaving your partner high and dry? What was that little speech on the rooftop then?".

– "No, I'm not leaving you high and dry, but...".

– "Shh! You're gonna love it Mer, I promise you", he assured her.

He helped her put her helmet on while she stared at him with a sulky look on her face.

– "My girlfriend looks very, very sexy!".

She sighed, resigned. She could never stay mad at him when he looked at her like that and tilted his head to the side. That's why she had been avoiding him for the past few weeks.

As she had retrieved her coat, she gave him his jacket back and he quickly put it on. Once they were both seating on the motorcycle, he turned his head slightly to ask her:

– "Ready?".

Meredith felt a shiver running down her spine and couldn't tell if it was excitement or fear. She actually thought that it could be both.

– "Yes... no... I don't know", she stuttered.

– "Hold on to me _cara_. Do you trust me?".

– "Yes", she answered without hesitation.

When Andrew turned on the engine, she said, laughing:

– "I think I'm already feeling the adrenaline rush!".

Andrew burst out laughing and replied in a very suggestive tone:

– "Hmm, with the adrenaline effects on arousal, I have a feeling that our evening will be mind-blowing and unforgettable!".

– "So, why are we still in that parking lot?".

Andrew couldn't help but laugh. As he started riding away slowly, he yelled, to drown out the noise of the motorcycle:

– "Happy Valentine's Day and Happy first anniversary _cara!_".

Meredith's laughter echoed his own in the quiet parking lot.

They didn't notice Richard looking at them and smiling. The latter was thinking inwardly: "_Those two really are made for each other!__"_.

_**Note: **__As you can see, there was no __lengthy__ explanation between Meredith and Andrew. The reason is that I have already written two fics about their breakup: "__**Partners**__" and "__**The Power of Love**__" which you can read if you are interested._

_I know that I left you wanting more because I did not show the hot and sexy night of 16x13 but you can find lots of hot and sexy scenes in "__**The Season of Love**__", especially chapters 11 and 12 about what happened after the candlelight dinner prepared by Andrew at the end of 15x18 and chapters 17 and 18 which correspond to 15x22 where we saw Merluca in bed for the first time on screen. _

_In addition, in "__**The Season of Love-Epilogue**__", you will find the first anniversary in Italy that Andrew had imagined. _

_Don't forget to comment! _

_See you soon! _


End file.
